The Elk Refuge

It was beautiful Monday morning. This was the view from the back deck of our house. The sun was coming up and the sky was clear. It was gonna be a great day for a sleigh ride!

But, before we headed to Jackson, we went for a quick drive to see what we could find.

It was a bit chilly, but we've gotten used to that!

We drove around the neighborhood,

and spotted one of the very few bald eagles we've seen this winter.

We also spotted some trumpeter swans . . .

. . . and two moose.

The Elk Refuge was created in 1912 to protect habitat and provide sanctuary for one of the largest elk herds in the country. It encompasses almost 25,000 acres of elk winter range and the elk, which numbers are constantly changing, are free to come and go. It is home to an average of 7,500 elk each winter. On this particular day, our sleigh driver informed us that there were currently approximately 5,800 elk on the property. She maneuvered our sleigh right into the middle of the herd, where all the action was!

The younger elk spar to test their strength against peers in a casual setting. Sparring is a sporting engagement which can resemble the atmosphere of a slow, drawn-out dance. And, much like dancing, sparring is a mutually agreed upon encounter between two friendly participants. There are no winners and no losers. In the fall, during the rut, their testosterone spikes and true fighting takes over. Compared to the playful quality of a sparring match, the speed and violence of these encounters can be striking. Rutting bulls fight for the most basic evolutionary imperative: the right to mate with cows and pass on their genes. - Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation

In addition to the clicking of the antlers, you can hear elk calves calling out.

Recognize this guy?

Sleeping Indian

The eagle tree -

A bald eagle guarding its next meal. Wolves, coyotes, numerous types of raptors and ravens do a great job of keeping the Elk Refuge clear of carrion. It wasn't clear what happened to this elk, but the clean up committee doesn't care. They have a job to do and they are darn good at it!

Looks like we found the Boy's Club.

Another clean up committee finishing their job.

How Rude!

In case you missed it, below is an enlarged photo of the bull elk above. - Photo courtesy of Don!

PLLLLLLLP!!!

There are numerous other animals on the Elk Refuge, including bison, bighorn sheep, moose, deer, trumpeter swans badgers, beaver, voles, chislers (Unita ground squirrels) and coyotes, like these guys.

As we left the herd and wrapped up our sleigh ride, Don & I noticed two raptors sitting on two poles, just waiting for an opportunity to swoop in on the next dinner opportunity.

This guy was sitting on the fence at the end of the ride. One could almost imagine his farewell "Ya'll Come Back Now, Ya Hear?"

Heading home, we always pass by the Walton Ranch and get to see this happy group of cattle and horses. They must have the best view of JH livestock anywhere!

After lunch, we headed down to the park behind our house and did a little cross country skiing.

I also did a little scoping for wildlife and saw a muskrat.

A moose.

And two trumpeter swans.

After our 3 mile loop, we relaxed in the hot tub, with a nice sunset view.

Notice the snow piled up on the left side of the photo?

That evening at at 7:45 pm, one of the trail cameras picked up that fox, again.

I currently have all five trail cameras deployed outside in the yard. To date, I've only managed to capture 1 fox on 4 different occasions. Keeping them operating is almost a full time job. I use rechargeable batteries and they don't do well in sub-zero temperatures. I'm changing them out and recharging them very frequenlty. But, there is SO much snow, the action has been very slow. And, oftentimes we'll see tracks, but the cameras missed the action. It's a bit like whack-a-mole.However, I won't give up. When we first arrived, I took a photo of tracks on the back wall. Wouldn't swear to it, but I think they were mountain lion tracks and I want to be ready if one happens to come through while we're here this month.

What do you think could have left those tracks? Elk, deer and moose don't typically walk the wall and they're too big for fox or coyote.

And all of that in just one day! Don is making sure we see and do it all on this trip. We haven't stopped going since we arrived and there are plenty of other things on our "To-Do" list while we're here. Stay tuned for the next post to my Blog . . . our snowmobile trip into Yellowstone to see Old Faithful erupt!